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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · temple · bass · fall · wound · lash · ground · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. drill — army training
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — crushed
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — low music
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — the season
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ground — the earth
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. lash — to lash out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com